6 Myths About Solar Energy At Home
Living in Southern California we get plenty of sunshine (though admittedly it is currently raining). It’s therefore usually an ideal spot for home solar panels, however speaking with various people about it there are some common misconceptions, some conflicting, that people have.
1. It takes 30 years to get your money back. Of course it depends where you live, what type of system you have and how much energy you use. Here in California, 6-8 years is more the norm. Plus, don’t think of it as getting your money back, think of it as an upfront cost that then provides you something for free.
2. If there’s a main power cut in your street, you will still have electricity. No, this isn’t normally correct, almost all systems are “grid-tie” systems. This means you receive power from the national grid as normal, and your solar panels send any electricity generated to this grid, essentially using the grid as a battery. If there’s a power cut then you will not be able to receive any power from the grid or your solar installation.
3. The electricity company will pay you for any extra energy you produce. This isn’t usually true. Your solar installation will, at times, be generating more electricity than you are using so your electricity meter will start going backwards. Over a 12 month period, if you have generated more electricity than you have used, you will NOT get any money for this, therefore it is very important to size the system you have to the amount of electricity that you use. Else you will be paying to build a bigger system than you can benefit from.
4. The government will give you massive rebates. Once again this depends on where you live and what current rebate program is in effect. It’s not uncommon to get 50% or more back in rebates and tax credits, however you should investigate this and apply before you order anything. It’s usually calculated on a per watt basis.
5. My condo owner or Home Owners Association won’t allow it. In California it’s against the law to restrict the installation of solar panels. They can make demands on how it looks, position etc, but nothing that will add more than 15% to the cost. It’s likely to be similar wherever you live - the government want you to pay to create your own energy!
6. It’s difficult to install, and looks ugly. No, it’s actually relatively quick and simple (less than a week depending on the size), but there are hundreds of companies that are licensed and will do it for you. As to whether it looks ugly, well, that’s in the eye of the beholder!
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4 Responses to “6 Myths About Solar Energy At Home”
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all i can say is wait. nanotech is revolutionizing everything, solar panels included. so if you are thinking about solar power, wait, efficiency will dramatically increase (current photovoltaic efficiency is below 40%, cutting edge nanotech photovoltaics offer up to 80% [side note, 80% efficiency means it works at night!! tell me that isnt sweet.]) and price will decrease (from dollars/watt to cents/watt) in the near future. pure speculation but i say give it 3 yrs, the first commercial nano-based solar panels are just reaching the market and with increased efficiency and decreased cost the demand will only rise leading to more research and… you get it. so yeah, wait, youll be glad you did.
You can get solar panels that are completely transparent and just look like tinted glass. You could even replace your windows with them although I don’t know anything about their insulating properties.
The trouble with waiting is that if everybody did it, there would be no demand for solar panels and the research funding would dry up. There will always have to be some early adopters that pave the way for the unwashed masses later on.
It’s a fine line whether to wait or not. If you’re considering getting solar then I think you’re ready and can get it now. Why wait? In the end you’ll have almost free electricity anyway, if you wait 5 years for the price to come down, you’ve been paying for power for 5 years which would have to be factored into the cost. Individual circumstances vary massively but out of all the people I know who have solar, not a single one wishes they waited!
There will always be something better coming…
Faster computers, more efficient PV systems, etc.
If you are thinking about PV, get a quote, run
the numbers and make an informed decision. I for
one love my $6.59/month electric bill. Oh and make
sure you get a Time-of-Day meter once you get your
system installed.